Monday, March 31, 2014

Saturday 29th March, the cast reunited for a special H2G2 Live event at the BBC radio theatre. The event was part of Radio 4's Character Invasion program.

The program was adapted and directed by the quite unique Dirk Maggs and starring all the main actors from the original radio series : Simon Jones (Arthur), Mark Wing-Davey (Zaphd), Stephen Moore (Marvin), Sue Sheridan (Trillian) and Geoffrey McGivern (Ford). And the original producer John Lloyd was The Voice of the Book.

Here is a short review from H2G2 expert, David Haddocks :

" The show was 75 minutes so not the full presentation of what toured in 2012 and 2013 and they did most of the visual side of the sound effects you will be aware of if your saw it in a theatre. At the end of the Pan-Galactic Gargleblaster mixing Mark got a straw stuck in his glasses so there is an extra big laugh that means nothing to the radio audience. Dirk was somewhat stressed by having to keep to a set time and at one point indicated to the cast to stretch things out a bit. I am not sure if this prompted Geoff and Toby to throw in the extra deja vue joke that looked to confuse Simon momentarily, but he handled it with aplomb even if he did end up reading from Toby's script rather than his own. At the end there was a standing ovation and the cast were joined on stage for the curtain call by Stephen Moore and he gave the Marvin robot a kiss."

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Today tuesday 11th March, we're celebrating Douglas Adams 62nd Birthday and there are two events happening at the same time in London.

First, the Highgate Cemetery where Douglas Adams is burried is organizing a special event called "Douglas Adams: A Conversation at the End of the Universe".

Special guests Lalla Ward and Richard Dawkins will share memories of Douglas Adams.
As you may know Lalla Ward is a former Doctor Who companion and played with Tom Baker in Douglas Adams episodes "City of death" and "Shada".

Richard Dawkins, was a good friend of Douglas Adams. They shared a same views of live and also their atheism. evolutionary biologist and author of books such as "The Selfish Gene" and "The God Delusion". They met after Richard wrote Douglas the only fan letter he ever wrote, and Douglas replied with a fan letter of his own.

Lalla and Richard met at a party for Douglas’ 40th birthday in 1992 and were married later the same year.
The event is sold out, but I really hope that we'll get pictures and reports from the evening.

The Second event of the day is the annual Douglas Adams Memorial Lecture that will take at the Royal Geographical Society.

This year's lecture will explore a theme close to the hearts of many of Douglas' fans : "We will be exploring science in fiction, taking a closer look at two popular fictional worlds - Harry Potter and the Simpsons - and exploring the science within".

Thursday, March 6, 2014

The H2G2 live team will be back for a one of saturday 29th March at the BBC Radio Theatre in London. The original cast will be back including Mark Wing Davey (Zaphod) and Stephen Moore (Marvin). The voice of the book will be this time played by the original producer of the radio series John Lloyd.

The event will take place at 10 am and should be broadcast live on Radio 4.
Tickets to participate to the event are free but the BBC has decided organize a random draw for tickets to keep it fair. You can register for tickets at any time until Thursday 13 March at 4pm.

Here is a message from director Dirk Maggs published on Faceboook : "We are reuniting at the request of the BBC for a one-off show in London's Broadcasting House Radio Theatre. It will be performed and broadcast live on Radio 4 on the morning of Saturday March 29th. It is part of the network's "Character Invasion Day" and will be a shorter version of the touring show featuring the original cast, with Mark Wing-Davey returning as Zaphod and Stephen Moore in person as Marvin. Tickets are free but limited in number and allocated at the website below. We're really looking forward to it and hope you can catch the show live in the Radio Theatre or Live On Air. Either way, don't forget your towel!"